afternoon on a hill, part two

Okay, you've seen the flowers we found on our skyward hike. Flowers are easy to find anywhere--including lower elevations. We didn't have to climb McCall's Peak to see them.

For the views, though, it was mandatory.

And very worth it.

First, though, a few photos from the drive to our destination. . . .

The mountains were clear, the farming in the area was at its peak, and there was some kind of construction going on down in the canyon.

Okay, no more suspense. Just a warning though: the camera can't even begin to capture the true breathtaking wonder of the views we discovered from the peak!

Isn't it amazing? Unfortunately the clouds rolled in around Mt. Hood, but Mt. Adams stayed mostly clear, and the river was gorgeous!

And just a couple of extras to conclude:

afternoon on a hill

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
~Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Afternoon on a Hill"

I'm not sure how it came about, but flowers are suddenly one of my very favorite subjects. I still love all kinds of pictures--landscapes, people, animals, etc.--but lately flowers have just been stealing the show.

My dear friend Suze took my sister and I to see the sights across the river yesterday. We had the choice of two trails--up or down--and, with aspirations of promising mountain views, decided to go up.

And up.

And up some more.

A mile and a half seems a lot further when it's at a 60 degree angle . . . but it was well worth it. The views were breathtaking, the flowers copious, and the photography fantastic. (We could have done without the granddaddy rattlesnake, however.)

I'm going to save the landscape photos for a later post--right now I just want to show you all the gorgeous flowers. :) I didn't even have to hike up a peak for all of them!

Some of them were right in my backyard . . .

And we found a few in a fantastic nursery/garden supply store . . .

And last but not least, on the hike itself . . .

 

Balsam root, lupine, bachelor buttons, wild roses, Indian paintbrush, and others I couldn't possibly identify . . . it was paradisaical. :)

And you haven't even seen the views yet!